After Exams

After finishing all of my exams and sixth form completely, I was finally able to get back racing. My first race back was in Holten, The Netherlands. I was especially nervous for this race, mainly because it was my first race in nearly 6 weeks, so I didn’t know how it would go and if I was race sharp yet. The journey out to Holland was lovely and relaxed; this was a big advantage and calmed me down going into the race. There was a split transition, which meant setting both up and getting ready just before was slightly hectic, but it is the same for everyone. I had a good start in the swim, getting reasonably clear water and a fast start, meant I got out ahead before the first buoy, with 2 other girls (both Brits) next to me. In the end I got out of the swim 2^nd, but then struggled with my wetsuit, meaning Lissie Hood had to help me find the zip. But once I got it down, my transition was smooth and I made front bike pack comfortably. The rain was pouring by this point so the bike was slightly slower than normal, with everyone being extra cautious. The front pack consisted of about 12 people-including 6 Brits- unfortunately one of these crashed out but wasn’t badly hurt, luckily. I was badly positioned coming into T2, so went out onto the run a bit behind the front few before it even started. I started fast though, going past a few girls early on. I felt strong, stronger than I’d felt in a long time and was working hard in 8^th, just behind 6^th and 7^th. I caught them with just less than 1km to go, but then it came down to a sprint finish and I just got taken on the line, so 8^th it was. I was still very happy with this, being my second best ETU cup result to date. It was also great that 6 of the top 10 in Holten were British girls. I stayed out in Holland for a few days after the race also in a small cottage in the woods. I went cycling with my family and we also did some exploring, which was lovely and relaxing. We also went for a day trip to Amsterdam to sight see and have an adventure around the streets of the capital. Massive thank you to my dad who was the designated driver all week in the mini bus, it must have been hard with the odd roads and many cyclists out there. It made the trip much easier and meant I could focus on training.

I had a race the next weekend at Dorney Lake, the Lidl BananaMan Triathlon. After a fair bit of travelling, getting home from Holten just the previous day, I was feeling slightly tired, but excited to race at one of my favourite venues again. I had a decent swim, coming out roughly 2^nd and a few seconds behind 1^st. The swim was very fast and spread out the field. Going out onto the bike, I just missed Meg’s wheel and found myself in no man’s land for over 5km of the bike. Just after ¼ of the laps I as caught by a small pack of 4 girls. We were working well together but still seemed to be making very little time up on the front 2. Going onto the 3^rd lap, me and Kate Waugh broke off the front of the pack and worked very hard for the next 2 laps, closing the gap from 40 seconds to just over 10 going into T2. I made a rookie error by going to the wrong space in transition but quickly corrected myself and was out onto the run just behind Kate. I worked very hard for the first 2km and that is when I caught Meg up. With Kate having a lead and Meg and I sat in 2^nd/3^rd with a large gap to 4^th we could afford to take it easier. It turned into a very tactical race for second.  The next 2.5km we ran together, taking it in turns to have shelter from what was now a very strong wind. It came down to a sprint and I was determined to win it after being out sprinted the previous weekend. So the final result was; Kate 1^st, Me 2^nd and Meg 3^rd. I was very pleased with this, as it was my first super series podium of the year.

The next day I went to a BBQ with the swimming club National Qualifiers, which was a lovely event and where we also got presented with our National T-Shirts. I was really pleased when I was asked to race for the club in a relay at nationals, especially as this will be my last year with the club full time.

As always a massive thank you to my sponsors and their continued support; Zone3, SportsAid, Precision Hydration, Carl Goose Sports Massage, Broadland District Council and Swimzi.

Big thank you to Birdsof Dereham for cutomising my XK for me